The List
by superheroine
Summary: AU, HS Fic. Sakura has a secret admirer! So, Ino makes a list of possible admirers. Join Sakura and Ino as they investigate the guys on The List and eliminate the suspects... until they're left with one last guy.
1. Chapter One: A Secret Admirer?

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the idea.

--

"**WAKE UP, SAKURA!" **

At the sudden – and very loud – sound, I quickly opened my eyes and shot up in bed. I looked around hastily, trying to identify the source of noise. My eyes fell to my mother, currently standing in my doorway, her hands cupped around her mouth in order to achieve maximum volume. I groaned and tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. Jeez, did she have to be so_ loud? _

"Sakura, you're going to be late for school," my mom said, no longer speaking loudly. I groaned a second time and looked at the clock. Crap. I _was _going to be late to school. I quickly thanked my mother for the _rude and extremely loud _wake-up and asked her to leave **please** so I could change into my school uniform.

"This day is going to be _wonderful, _I can already tell…" I muttered to myself as I slipped out of bed and walked over to my closet. "First I overslept and _then_ my mom practically **screamed **in my ears…" I continued as I quickly dressed in my school uniform. "Yeah, I can definitely tell already…"

"…this day is going to be _great." _

--

As I dashed out of the door – breakfast eaten as fast as possible and my shoes hardly tied – I wondered briefly if Ino would even remember she was supposed to-

"Yo, Forehead-chan! I was starting to wonder when you'd finally come outside!"

I sighed in relief. Even though Ino could be seriously forgetful sometimes… she'd remembered to give me a ride today. _Maybe today isn't going to be that bad after all, _I mused to myself. _Maybe_—

My thought never finished because, at that moment, I tripped over an ever-so-carefully-placed object placed on my doorstep. _Nevermind, _I thought to myself, _today's definitely going to suck. _I quickly stood back up, grabbed my bag that'd fell, and spared a glance at the object I tripped over. _A box of… chocolates? What the heck? _

"Forehead! Hurry up!" Ino yelled from her lavender convertible. I hurriedly grabbed the box of chocolates, shoved them into my bag, and dashed to Ino's car. "Jeez, Forehead-chan, we'll be lucky if we're only thirty minutes late at this rate… what'd you trip over, anyway? Your feet again?"

I glared at Ino as she stepped on the gas pedal and we sped off towards school. "Actually, Pig-chan—" I stopped speaking abruptly and Ino glanced at me before redirecting her gaze to the road.

"Yeah, Forehead-chan?" she said, waiting for me to finish my thought.

"Ah… actually, yes, Pig-chan. I tripped over my feet again." I didn't know **why **I decided to keep the chocolates a secret from Ino-pig, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.

"God, Forehead! You are such a klutz!" Ino-pig exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" I muttered.

For the rest of the ride to school, we bantered playfully as best friends do. During the entire ride, I wondered…

_Who gave me these chocolates? _

--

"Finally! I thought lunch would never come! I swear, all through calculus I was just _staring _at the clock **waiting **for the bell to ring!" Ino said to me as we both walked down the hall.

"Ino-pig, as much as I'm just _dying _to listen to you talk about how impatient you are when it comes to calculus and lunch… I need to go to my locker," I said, before Ino went on to inevitably rant about having calculus before lunch.

"Yeah, **whatever, **Forehead-chan," Ino replied, her disdain for my sarcasm leaking from her voice. "Just hurry up, would you?"

"I will, O' Mighty One," I sarcastically shot back. After English with Mr. I'm-Always-Late, Calculus with Mr. May-the-Power-of-YOUTH!-Be-With-You, and many other classes with annoying classmates such as Naruto and Kiba, I was as ready for lunch as the next person.

When we arrived at my locker, I quickly spun the lock – 9-18-27, easiest combination in the world, I swear – and opened my locker.

"Oh my _god_, Forehead! Somebody left a **rose **in your freakin' _locker_!"

_No duh, Ino! _I thought to myself, not quite capable of speaking aloud at the moment. Roses? For **me? **Sakura Haruno, Forehead Girl? "But who…?" I murmured in disbelief.

"They didn't even leave a note! God, how inconsiderate. Maybe you wanted to know who—

"Oh my god, Pig-chan! I'm being stalked!" I exclaimed.

"No, Forehead—"

"It all makes sense—"

"Forehead!"

"You know, I totally felt like I was being followed all day—"

"FOREHEAD!"

I stopped trying to talk over Ino for a moment. "Yes, Pig-chan?"

"You have a secret admirer!"

I paused, considering this for a second. "Secret admirer?"

"Yes, Forehead. A secret admirer!" Ino paused, looking at my disbelieving face. "As in, not a stalker."

"I suppose that's a possibility… but _who?" _

I instantly regretted asking my question as I saw Ino-pig grin the **scariest **grin I'd ever seen.

"C'mon, Forehead-chan! We have tons of things to do!"

And with that, Ino shut my locker, relocked it, grabbed my arm, and dragged me off to the cafeteria and as she did so one thought raced through my mind.

_Oh my god… what have I _done?

--

"It's finished!" Ino-pig yelled, drawing the attention of just about **everyone **in the cafeteria to our little table.

"Thank you for sharing, Ino-pig. And I'm sure everyone else in the cafeteria thanks you as well," I said with fake-sincerity. Everyone else in the cafeteria went back to their own conversations when they realized Ino wasn't going to yell anything else.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ino-pig replied, probably not even hearing what I'd said. "It's _done, _Forehead!"

"What's done, Ino-pig?" I asked wearily.

"The List, of course!" Ino answered. She handed the piece of paper she'd been writing on for the last ten minutes to me. I scanned it quickly.

"Oh my god, Ino-pig. Are you serious?"

She looked at me, confused. "Well, yeah, Forehead! Every single one of those guys could possibly be your secret admirer!"

--

**THE LIST**

Naruto (the guy with the orange jumpsuit)

Rock Lee (the guy with the funny eyebrows)

Sai (the guy with the belly-shirt)

Neji (the guy without the pupils)

Shikamaru (the guy who stares at clouds)

Shino (the guy with the sunglasses on all the time)

Kankuro (the guy with the make-up)

Gaara (the guy who doesn't sleep)

Kiba (the guy who brings his dog to school)

Sasuke (the guy you used to date)

--

"…Pig-chan?"

"Yes, Forehead-chan?"

"This is just about every guy we know."

Ino smiled.

"Yeah, I know."

--

**So, anybody like the idea? Review and tell me what you think. **

'**till the next chapter!, **

**LittleMissHippie**


	2. Chapter Two: It Has To Be Him

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own this plot though.

**Author's Note: Sorry I re-uploaded the chapter! I had to make a couple changes. **

--

"Care to explain your reasoning, Pig-chan?" I asked. Honestly, what was she _thinking?_ This list included probably every guy I'd ever had a conversation with at our school.

"Let's see… well, obviously Naruto and Lee have crushes on you," Ino responded. I nodded at this and waited for her to continue. "Sai… you guys have just about every class together, right?"

"Right…" I answered.

"So it's a possibility. I mean, he has the opportunity, you know?"

I nodded – grudgingly – in agreement.

"And…" Ino paused, glancing down at the list. "Well, you and Shikamaru—"

"Neji, Pig-chan. Tell me why _Neji_'s on The List." It was so **obvious **that Ino-pig was avoiding telling me her reasoning concerning Neji. _Why? It's not like—_

"He stares, Forehead. I swear. He _stares _at you, like, all day."

If I had been drinking anything, I **probably **would've spit it in her face. "He stares at me? Oh my _god!_ And you never told me before? That's just so… so…" I struggled for words to describe this newfound information.

"Sweet?" Ino supplied.

"I was thinking more along the lines of creepy."

Ino sighed. "Anyway, as I was saying before, you and Shikamaru used to be best friends, right? So… he _could _have a crush on you. It's possible."

I blinked once. Shikamaru? Could _he _be my secret admirer?

"And Shino… well, he's smart. And you're smart! So, wouldn't it make sense? I mean, smart people like other smart people!" Ino paused. "Forehead-chan, don't look at me so oddly!"

"Sorry, Ino-pig," I said sarcastically. "It's just… well, do you _hear _yourself?"

"Oh, shut up, Forehead! It makes sense, okay? Okay, let's see… where was I? Oh yeah, Kankuro. Well… it's a possibility. I heard this rumor the other week and…"

"And?" I prompted.

"Well, I don't now if it's _true _or not but… Neji said Hinata heard from Tenten – who spies on Temari sometimes – that Temari told Shikamaru that Kankuro likes you!"

"What?" I asked, totally confused.

"Oh, forget it. The point is Kankuro **may **like you. So, he's on The List."

I reluctantly nodded, still slightly confused as to what Ino said. _God, Ino-pig and her gossip…_

"And Gaara… he's just a possibility."

I raised my one eyebrow. "A possibility?_ Please_, Ino-pig, that's **so **not a real reason at _all." _I paused. "You don't know something I don't know, right?"

Ino looked offended. "Forehead! Are you trying to say I'd actually keep something from you? What kind of friend do you think I am?"

I sighed as I decided that I didn't really want to fight this particular fight today. "A great one, Ino-pig."

"Thank you, Forehead-chan! So, anyway, back to The List… Kiba. Well… okay, this _may _creep you out but… I could've sworn the guy sniffed you last week."

"Oh _god. _He _sniffed _me?"

Ino-pig nodded sadly. "He's a weird one, Kiba."

Of course, I agreed with her completely. Kiba _was _kinda weird. But…

"He's cute though, so it _totally _evens out!" Ino said.

I nodded in agreement before asking another question, "So, uh, Ino-pig?"

"Yes, Forehead-chan?" I scanned her face, wondering if she already knew what I was going to ask. Probably.

"Why Sasuke?"

"Why, Forehead, I never thought you were that naïve! Sometimes, when someone breaks up with someone else, they still have feelings for the other person."

I nodded, my mind mulling over Ino's words. Was Sasuke one of those people? I didn't think so, but obviously Ino-pig did. _I'll trust her judgment, _I thought to myself. I nodded a second, final time.

"Right. So… how exactly are we supposed to figure out who my secret admirer is?"

"Well, duh, Forehead-chan! We use The List, of course."

"Okay…" I trailed off. There was a long pause in our conversation before I asked, "And?"

"Well… I'll be using my _many _connections, of course but otherwise…"

"Yeah?" I asked, urging her to continue.

"Well, we're just going to wing it!"

--

The next morning, as I walked to school, many things plagued my thoughts. Obviously I was trying to figure out who my secret admirer was – who wouldn't be? – but I was also still thinking about Ino-pig's reasoning.

_Does Neji seriously stare? _

_Could Shikamaru be my admirer? _

_Why is Gaara on The List anyway? _

_Could Sasuke still have feelings for me? Even after I broke up with him? _

Mentally, I went over the names on The List in my head. Naruto, Lee, Sai, Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, Kankuro, Gaara, Kiba, Sasuke. Of those ten guys, I would probably find my secret admirer.

Naruto and Lee were both high possibilities. Shino and Kankuro weren't. Who was worth actually investigating on The List? _Not most of these guys, _I thought to myself. I mean really, what were the odds of _Kiba _or _Shikamaru _being my secret admirer?

"Yo, Ugly."

I blinked a few times in surprise. Wait—was I at school already? I looked around to find the owner of the voice that had just spoken to me. Black hair, dark eyes, belly-shirt—oh. There he was. "Hello, Sai," I said as **nicely **as I could considering the circumstances.

"What were you thinking about, Ugly? You looked like you were deep in thought."

"Oh, uh, nothing in particular." _Just, you know, you and a few other guys. _I looked over at Sai, trying to figure out if he'd believed my lie or not. I didn't have any luck. _Screw you, Sai, and your stupid fake smiles! _

"Oh, really?" Crap. It didn't really sound like he believed me.

"Okay, okay, you caught me. I was actually thinking about that Calculus homework. What's with Gai-sensei, anyway? He just **had **to assign us a billion and five problems for homework, didn't he?" I paused, then continued, "And it didn't help at all that they were all so freakin' complicated. Seriously, have we even learned Chapter 12 yet?"

"I suppose not," Sai said, "But you are the smartest person in our year. Surely Calculus homework from Gai-sensei isn't even a problem for you."

_Oh my God, did Sai just compliment me? _

"Ugly? They just opened the school doors. We have to go to class now."

"Oh? Oh, yeah. Class. Kakashi-sensei. Right. Let's go then," I said after blinking a few times to bring myself back to the _here and now. _Sai and I started making our way to English class. As we were walking, I made light conversation with Sai. He was being nice, which was odd.

When we arrived, I settled into a seat near the back so I could continue thinking about The List and my secret admirer. Kakashi-sensei was **always **at least thirty minutes late, so I had time to kill. Plus, a possibility that Ino-pig had already stated yesterday during lunch was starting to seem like a very likely possibility indeed.

_Sai could be my secret admirer. _

--

By lunchtime, I was convinced that Sai was, in fact, my secret admirer.

"You'll be eating with me and Ino today, right?" I asked, already sure of the answer.

"Of course, Ugly," he responded.

The whole Ugly thing had bothered me at first – and it was one of the reasons I originally didn't consider Sai as one of the higher possibilities at first – but now, I thought of it more like Ino's nickname for me, Forehead. It was slightly mean, yeah, but it was kind of endearing too.

I lead the way to my usual lunch table and sat down opposite Ino, who was already there.

"Hey, Forehead-chan, made any progress on the whole—" Ino-pig stopped suddenly, most likely because she noticed that Sai was right behind me. "—Gai-sensei thing? Have you talked to Tsunade yet or what?"

Ah, good old Ino-pig. You could rely on that girl to make a great save any day of the week.

"Sort of. Haven't talked to Tsunade yet, but I'm pretty sure I can handle the homework."

"Oh, is that so?" Ino-pig asked. _What's that supposed to mean? _I mentally seethed.

"I believe that Ugly can handle Gai-sensei's homework."

Ino's eyes widened a little but seconds later they returned to their usual size. "Right, right. Of course she can."

I smiled a little and looked at Ino, trying to convey a message with my eyes that would – hopefully – be interpreted as something like, "I think Sai's my secret admirer!" Ino-pig's eyes lit up a little, and I thought to myself, _Message received. _

Ino immediately direct her attention towards Sai, who was sitting next to me. "So, Sai… random question. If you liked a girl…" she paused, but then continued.

"…what would you give her?"

There was a pause, and I was pretty sure Sai was thinking about his answer. His answer, which would ultimately decide if he was my secret admirer or not…

"A single red rose is considered romantic, correct? I would probably give her something such as that."

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Did he seriously just say that? _

Ino smiled brightly and said, "Thanks for the input!"

Sai smiled his trademark smile in return, "Anytime."

Ino and Sai continued conversing for the rest of lunch. Sai would get me involved in the conversation every couple minutes but otherwise he left me alone to my own thoughts. I thought about how just this morning Sai hadn't even made my list of highly likely possibilities. But now… a few hours later…

_He has to be. _

--

After lunch, I went to my locker to put away the books I didn't have to lug home tonight. I quickly spun the combination – 9-18-27 – and opened the locker door, totally ready to see my single red –

I was confused for a moment as I stared at the second rose. Then, realization struck and I couldn't help feeling like…

_I'm back to square one._

**--**

**I hope the 2****nd**** chapter was as good as the first. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share. Also, thanks for the reviews, EightRedRoses, sta2l1ght, and deixsaku! Really, reviews totally brighten my day. **

**Hasta luego!,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	3. Chapter Three: We're Making Progress

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

--

After I'd found the second rose – obviously **not **from Sai – in my locker, the rest of the day had passed in a blur and before I knew it I was at home with a bag full of English, Calculus, and other assorted homework from my _lovely _teachers. It took me a solid two hours to complete the homework – usually I was finished sooner, but I kind of had a **lot **on my mind.

As I flopped down on my bed after completing my homework, I took a few moments to gather my thoughts before texting Ino-pig.

_Sai's obviously not my secret admirer. I can cross him off The List. _

_So, if I eliminate Sai – who wasn't originally a high possibility – I'm left with… nine guys. And really, I didn't think Sai was my secret admirer in the _beginning _but after spending _half _a day with him…_

"Ugh!" I said.

_Any of the guys left on The List could be my admirer. _

"Yo, Forehead! You've got a text!" Ino's voice rang out from underneath my pillow. I quickly grabbed my phone and checked my newly received text message.

**INO-PIG: **_Forehead! You done with homework yet?_

I typed out a response – _Yes, Ino-pig, I'm done with homework _– and paused. After a moment's hesitation, I typed out another text.

**SAKURA: **_BTW, Sai can't be the guy. I found another rose in my locker after lunch. Guess who was with me all day?_

**INO-PIG: **_Sai?_

**SAKURA: **_Exactly. So, obviously, he's not my admirer. He couldn't have put it in my locker without me knowing. It's impossible. _

**INO-PIG:** _Hmmm… _

**SAKURA: **_Hmmm? Care to share your thoughts?_

**INO-PIG: **_I suppose you're right. So, Sai's off The List?_

**SAKURA: **_Yup. And do you know what that means? _

**INO-PIG: **_No, but I'm assuming you're going to share. _

**SAKURA: **_We're basically back to square one._

**INO-PIG: **_I disagree._

**SAKURA: **_Oh?_

**INO-PIG: **_Forehead… progress is being MADE! We've eliminated one, now we only have nine possible candidates!_

My first reaction to Ino-pig's text was, _Only nine? She says that as if… _But then, I realized something.

She was right.

_We _are _making progress. _

--

"Seriously, Forehead, this is why I don't give you a ride everyday! You always take _forever _and usually we're late."

I ignored Ino-pig as I tried to get into her car as quickly as possible. I slid into the seat, put my bag at my feet, and closed the door. "Whatever, Ino-pig, just drive."

"Whatever you say, _Master,_" Ino sarcastically replied, but she hit the gas pedal all the same.

"So… Pig-chan," I said.

"So… Forehead-chan," she answered.

"Have you learned anything else, since we talked yesterday?" I asked. _She probably has, _I thought, _Ino _does _have a crazy amount of connections. _

"Well, now that you mention it…" Ino responded, "I suppose…"

I looked over at her, raising one of my eyebrows in surprise. Was Ino-pig, the queen of gossip, **keeping something from me? **Usually she was practically an open book. _Maybe… maybe she found out who's my secret admirer? And she's just stalling, trying to be all dramatic? _

"Well? What have you learned?" I asked, now totally curious.

"Well," she started slowly, "you just won't believe this _at all _but… Kankuro? The guy with the make up? Well, he—"

"Kankuro's my secret admirer?!" I exclaimed. _No effin' way._

"Uh… well… not _really._"

I blinked a few times. "What?"

Ino-pig sighed. "Well, you remember how I heard Neji tell Hinata who heard from Tenten that Temari told Shikamaru that Kankuro likes you?"

I nodded once, but then I realized she probably wasn't looking at me, I replied with, "Yeah."

"Well, **apparently **I was wrong. _Apparently, _Temari was telling Shikamaru about how Kankuro likes me."

I laughed a little. _Well, that explains why Ino was reluctant to tell me! She hates being wrong about her gossip! _

"So," Ino-pig continued, ignoring my laughter, "Kankuro is off The List as well."

"Great!" I exclaimed, a smile on my face. "So that means there are only eight guys left. We really _are_ making progress, Pig-chan!"

Ino-pig smirked. "Uh, _duh. _I totally told you, Forehead."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I replied. _You will not bring me down, Ino-pig! This girl's good mood is unbreakable!_

There was a comfortable silence as we drove for awhile. Eventually, Ino-pig broke it.

"So, Forehead-chan, who do you think he is?"

"Who do I think who is?" I questioned, confused.

"Your secret admirer, _duh! _Slow much?" Ino quickly replied.

"Oh…" I paused, considering the question. "I really don't know. I'm kind of starting to think… they're all possibilities, you know? I mean, of course the most _logical _candidate is probably Naruto—or maybe Lee—but I wouldn't be surprised if he was someone else."

Ino nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. She murmured something that sounded distinctly like, "I see."

"So, what about you, Ino-pig? Who do you think he is?"

"I have my theories…"

I waited for her to elaborate… but she didn't. I stared at her questioningly for awhile, hoping that she would pick up on my not-so-subtle hint and finish her dang sentence.

"So, Forehead-chan," she said and I instantly knew I wouldn't be hearing about her aforementioned theories anytime soon. "Do you think you'll be disappointed?"

I blinked once in confusion. _Disappointed…?_

Obviously Ino-pig noticed my confused state. "Like, if he's not exactly the guy of your dreams?"

"Oh. Well…" I paused. Honestly, that hadn't occurred to me before. What if my secret admirer _wasn't _the guy of my dreams?

"I don't care," I finally answered. "Even if he's not exactly my definition of a Knight in Shining Armor… I don't care. He's obviously romantic, and that's enough for me." I felt confident of my answer. "Whoever my secret admirer is, I'm going to give him a chance."

"Good, good…" Ino murmured so quietly I could barely hear her. I simply raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant, – _Oh god, that's becoming a habit _– and decided to stare out the window until we arrived at school.

_Does Ino know something I don't?_

--

**Okay, so that was a little on the short side. This chapter was originally 1,700+ words, but I decided to cut it in half. So, expect the next chapter very soon. **

**Also, thanks for the reviews! Just to clarify some things: **

**-I've basically already picked out who the secret admirer is but I could change my mind. So, if there's someone you **_**really **_**want to be Sakura's secret admirer, tell me. **

**-I considered adding the Akatsuki (I love them too!) but I decided that I'd leave them alone… until I do a sequel. So, no. They won't be in this story. **

**Once again, please review! Make me smile. **

'**till the next update!,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	4. Chapter Four: What's Up With Her?

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. 

--

"_Sasuke."_

"_Sakura." _

"_We're over."_

_He nodded once, then continued to read his _stupid, obviously more important than me_ book as we both waited for the administrators to open the doors. _

"_Sasuke."_

_He sighed. "Sakura."_

"_That's why." _

_He nodded again, a thoughtful look on his face. He didn't return back to reading his book. He looked at me, as if waiting for me to say something. _

_I closed my eyes. "Sasuke?"_

"_Sakura."_

"_I'm not going to come back to you." _

_I opened my eyes again, just in time to see him nod a final time. _

"Forehead!"

I blinked a couple of times in surprise. "Yes, Ino-pig?"

"Class has been over for, like, _ten freakin' minutes. _Why are you still here?"

"Oh, I was just… zoning out, I guess."

"Well, **obviously. **And you, my friend, are going to tell me all about it some other time! We are late for lunch and Shikamaru is probably wondering where we are!"

_Shikamaru?_ I wondered.

"Shikamaru's sitting with us today, by the way. Forgot to mention that this morning."

I nodded as I picked up my bag so Ino-pig and I could head off to lunch. "Will you be asking the questions today?"

Ino-pig looked at me and smiled. "No, Forehead-chan, _you _will be asking the questions today!"

I shrugged and, before I could say anything, Ino-pig was dragging me off to the cafeteria.

--

"Shikamaru! It's been _forever _since I've talked to you!"

"Sakura, hey. Do you know why Ino decided I needed to sit here today? It's kind of troublesome. No offense or anything."

I grinned. "No offense taken." _Same old Shikamaru._ "And no, can't say I know why Ino decided you needed to sit here. Maybe she decided we should talk? She's been known to do stuff like that. Forcing reunions between old friends and such." _Actually, Shika, Ino-pig wants me to figure out if you're my secret admirer. _

He sighed. "What a drag…"

I laughed. "You haven't changed at all, Shikamaru."

"Changing is troublesome. And it takes effort."

"Shikamaru, you think _everything's _troublesome!"

He muttered something in response that vaguely sounded like, "Everything _is _troublesome…"

"So, Shikamaru, how have you been? I haven't had a real conversation with you since high school started."

"Fine. High school's sort of—"

"—troublesome?" I finished for him.

"Yeah. But it's manageable."

I nodded in agreement. _Now's the time to ask the questions, _I thought.

"So, Shikamaru…"

"Yeah?"

"I have a random question."

"Ask away. It's not like I can stop you or anything."

I laughed a little, then asked, "If you really liked a girl… what kind of gift would you give her?" I paused, waiting for his answer.

"You tell me."

Time seemed to slow down. _Did he just say…?_

"**What?**" I managed to ask.

_Oh my god. Is he… could he be–?_

"You tell me. You're obviously asking because Temari doesn't want me to screw up in the gift-giving department again… She probably told you to come up with some complicated – and troublesome – plan that involved giving me some gift ideas."

I stared at him. "_What? _Why would **Temari **tell me to do that?"

He gave me an odd look and then said, "Because she's my girlfriend. And apparently she doesn't like my gifts."

I momentarily lost my ability to speak.

Thankfully, Ino came to the rescue.

"Hey, Shika-kun! I think now would be a wonderful time for you to go back to your usual lunch table, yeah? I need to talk to Forehead about something."

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru said, mostly to himself, as he stood up with his lunch and walked away.

"Ino-pig… he has a _girlfriend_," I said in disbelief. "When did this happen?"

"I don't know, Forehead," she answered. She looked thoughtful for a minute before adding, "I didn't know."

I stared at Ino-pig in surprise. She hadn't _known? _Her gossip skills were definitely slipping. _I won't tell her that, though. I _value _my life. _

"We can cross him off The List as well, I guess," Ino continued.

I nodded in agreement, still too shocked by the fact that _Ino-pig _hadn't known something that was probably public knowledge.

_Unless… she did know? But then… Why would she…?_

I tried to get rid of my thoughts concerning Ino-pig's – slipping – gossip skills. That was an issue for another day—a day _after _I'd found my secret admirer.

"Oi, Forehead. I've got something to take care of, 'kay? I'll talk to you later."

I looked up at her and nodded a final time. "See ya, Pig-chan."

_Ino just keeps acting weirder and weirder…_

--

"Thank God school's _finally _over…" I muttered to myself as I walked towards the school entrance – which doubled as the exit – so I could meet up with Ino-pig. I suddenly stopped when I heard two voices talking to each other.

"I don't get it," the first voice said, "What's your problem, Uchiha?"

"Cut the crap, Yamanaka," he responded coldly. "I don't have time for your innocent act. We both know **you're **my problem."

_Uchiha… Yamanaka… Why are Sasuke and Ino arguing? _I wondered.

"Oh, really?" Ino asked. "I wasn't aware. So, what's pissed off the Almighty Uchiha today?"

"I really _don't _have time for this, Yamanaka." He paused. "I'll just get to the point…"

I waited for him to finish his sentence. _What are they talking about? _Why _are they even talking in the first place?_

"Tell him to stop it."

Ino-pig laughed. "Tell who to stop what, exactly?"

"What he's doing._ If_ he knows what's best for him, he will stop. And if **you **know what's best for you, you will tell him."

"Was that a **threat**, Uchiha?"

I could practically hear his smirk when he replied, "It was, Yamanaka."

Ino-pig sighed. "Sasuke, just because you're _jealous_—"

_Sasuke's jealous? Why would Sasuke be—_oh. _But that doesn't make sense! Sasuke would never be jealous of…_

"Yamanaka, you will tell him. And if you don't…" he trailed off. "There will be consequences."

"God, Sasuke, it's over. Understand? It's _over_. Can't you just let her move on?"

"Not with _him. _She deserves better. He… isn't good enough."

"Whatever, Uchiha. You really need to get over yourself. You cannot decide who deserves her and who doesn't. Sorry, but you _aren't _God. Now, please excuse me. _Sakura_'s probably waiting for me." After saying that, I heard a door open and slam closed.

I closed my eyes, thinking.

_What the heck just happened? _

--

**Thanks for the reviews! I think I updated pretty fast, yeah? **

**Also, to anyone who was wondering **_**why **_**I cut the chapter in half (VALLED), the second half (this chapter) just didn't seem right. I kinda fixed it, I think. It's better now.**

'**till the next chapter!, **

**LittleMissHippie**


	5. Chapter Five: So Many Conversations!

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

--

"So, Forehead, how long were you waiting?"

"What?" I asked, totally caught off guard. _How does she know I was waiting? Does she realize I heard her talking to Sasuke? Is she going to_—

"You know, this morning? English with Kakashi-sensei? Isn't he always late?"

_Of course she's talking about Kakashi-sensei! God, Sakura, stop being so paranoid… _

"Oh, yeah," I responded, "He wasn't that late today."

Ino nodded while staring at the road in front of us as she drove. There was a moment's silence before she spoke up.

"Sasuke's not the guy either," she mentioned casually.

"Oh?" I asked, even though I didn't really care why.

"The whole secret admirer thing just doesn't seem like him, you know?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

"And since we're on the subject of secret admirers, I had a very nice chat with Shino today…"

_Shino? _I wondered. _Nice chat? Does that mean…?_

"Did you know he has a _huge _crush on Hinata? The girl who's always blushing and stuttering? I suppose it sort of makes sense if you think about it…"

"Yeah, I suppose."

_Of course he likes Hinata! That makes __**tons **__of sense! How did I even miss that?_

Ino glanced at me. "Is there something wrong, Forehead-chan? You're kind of spacing."

I shook my head quickly and then, when I realized she probably wasn't looking at me, responded. "I'm perfectly fine, Pig-chan. It's just…" _Make something up! _"I'm sort of worried. You know, about my calculus grade?"

Ino laughed. "Jeez, Forehead. Only you would worry about your grades all the time!"

I laughed too, trying to make my act all the more believable. "Whatever, Ino-pig! You should be worried about your grades too!"

Ino overdramatically gasped, as if I had greatly insulted her. "Bite your tongue, Forehead!"

We continued our friendly argument until Ino finally got to my house and dropped me off.

"See you tomorrow, Forehead!" she yelled as she was already speeding off.

"See you tomorrow, Pig!" I yelled back.

--

I flopped down onto my bed, my mind already attempting to process the conversation I had overheard. _What, _I wondered, _could they have been talking about?_

_A guy, obviously. A guy who's trying to… what? And then there was that bit about jealousy and moving on. Maybe…_

I stared at my ceiling. _They couldn't have…_

_But maybe… they were talking about my secret admirer and—_

"Sakura, you have a visitor!"

--

I stared, totally and completely **shocked**, at the guy standing in my doorway. A question repeated itself in my mind—_Why is he here?_—and all I could do was _gape _like an absolute idiot.

"Sakura," he said coolly. _How is he able to be so cool about this? I mean,_ hello! _He's practically standing in my friggin' room. _

"Sasuke…" I replied softly.

Behind Sasuke, my mother smiled. "I'll just leave you two alone." And with that—and a wink in my direction— my mom was gone. _Dangit, Mom. Why do you have to pick _now _to be a Sasuke fan? _

"It's, uh, been a while," I said awkwardly. Seriously, what was he doing here? Unless… _I was right! Ino and Sasuke were talking about me and my secret admirer!_

"I'm going to get straight to the point, Saku—_Haruno._ You need to ignore your little gifts from... _him. _Do you understand?"

"Sasuke, you really think you can tell me what to do? I thought you knew me better than that." Suddenly I realized something. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Sasuke?"

"Absolutely not," Sasuke answered as he sent a glare my way.

"Are you **blushing**, Sasuke?"

After glaring at me again, he said, "You know what, Haruno? If you're smart—and I know you are—you will listen to me. _He _isn't right for you. Trust me."

There were so many things that were just plain _weird _about that statement I ended up gaping at Sasuke. Again.

"Sasuke," I said slowly, as a new thought was occurring to me. "You know who my secret admirer is, apparently. Care to share?" Judging by the look on his face, he probably wasn't going to tell me. "Then you can let me make my own decision about him."

I watched Sasuke's face as he judged his options. Slowly, he smiled.

"You don't know who he is."

I nodded.

"He has not revealed himself to you yet."

I nodded again, wary of where this was going.

"Well, then. I have nothing to worry about. If he hasn't revealed himself to you yet, odds are he never will." He nodded, as if he had been convincing himself. "I will leave, then."

"Wait! You can't leave!" I yelled before I could stop myself.

Obviously confused, he asked, "I can't?"

"You have to tell me…" I quickly ran through all the questions I could ask. "…why you even care."

Sasuke looked away. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"Not any of my business? Sasuke, you've got to be kidding."

"Now, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." Sasuke turned around, but then paused. "It was… nice talking to you again, Sakura." And with that, he continued walking.

--

So, one conversation with an ex later, I was back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. In a way, I was even more confused. But on the other hand…

_Everything's starting to become clearer. _

--

**Oh my gosh, everyone, I'm so sorry. **

**I realize you guys don't want to hear excuses, and I all I have to say is this: High School. I just started. **

**So, on another more-story-related note, I think I'll be able to update pretty steadily from now on. Maybe every Saturday. **

'**till next week!**

**LittleMissHippie**


	6. Chapter Six: Another Candidate!

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto. _

--

"Hey, Sai, have you seen Ino-pig?" I asked the next morning.

After yesterday's events, two things were very clear in my mind. _Obviously, my secret admirer's someone Sasuke dislikes __**and **__Ino knows who that guy is. _So, I decided yesterday that today I was going to guilt Ino into telling me who my secret admirer is. The odds of Sasuke telling me were slim to none.

"Yes, I have. I talked to her just five minutes ago, in fact. She said she was going to be meeting someone in room 115… I had assumed she was meeting you, but obviously—"

"She's not. Thanks, Sai-kun!" And with that, I ran towards my goal.

Room 115.

--

It occurred to me that Ino-pig was probably talking to my secret admirer. But it never occurred to me that they would be talking to each other—**alone!**— in a _dark_ room.

I slipped into the room, unnoticed, and tried to pay attention to their conversation.

"Did Sasuke talk to you as well?" a voice asked. _Ino-pig, _I thought.

"Yes, he did. I don't know why—I would have thought he knew it wouldn't make a difference," a guy—my secret admirer—responded. I couldn't recognize his voice.

_So he can't be someone I talk to frequently… I knew it! Naruto, Rock Lee, and Kiba can't be my secret admirer. So that leaves… Neji and Gaara. And—_

"He's trying to control the situation," Ino replied. "He is such a **guy!** Uh, no offense. But it's like… he's so jealous, you know? He probably feels threatened."

"Good," my secret admirer replied.

"I kinda feel bad for him though. I mean, it's so obvious that he still likes her. But really, he should just let her be happy." A pause. "You'll make her happy, won't you?"

"Of course I will. Sakura deserves to be happy."

I smiled to myself. _That's the right answer, Mr. Secret Admirer. _

"And if she decides she wants to be with Sasuke?"

"If that's what will make her happy…"

"If only you didn't like Forehead! I would date you myself."

_Yeah, well, hands off, Ino-pig! He is __**so **__mine._

"I'm going to assume that was a joke…" He sounded uncomfortable. _Way to fail, Ino-pig._

"Are you going to tell her who you are soon? Sasuke might get to her if you take too long…"

"I have a plan."

"Please don't tell me you're planning on doing something that is totally cliché…"

There was silence before I heard my secret admirer respond.

"Well, do _you _have a better idea?"

I could hear Ino-pig clapping her hands in delight. "Of course! Leave everything to me. I'll tell you what to do, alright?"

"...Fine."

"Okay, well, I should probably be getting to class soon. I'll send you some instructions later."

"Wait. Can you tell me… what Sakura's favorite flowers are?"

In my hiding spot, I smiled.

"Of course! She really likes pink tulips. I don't know **why, **but she does."

"Thank you, Ino."

"You're welcome!"

"…for everything."

I realized this was my chance to figure out who my secret admirer was. All I had to do was make my presence known and turn on the lights…

"So, Ino, when where you planning on telling me who my secret admirer is?"

I didn't even realize I had spoken until I heard a very loud—and not so very eloquent—"Oh, **crap.**"

I quickly moved away from my hiding spot so I could look for the light switch. "Nobody move, nobody move," I said as I tried to feel for the light switch. When I finally found it—and flipped it 'on'—I spun around and looked for my secret admirer.

The only person standing in the room, other than me, was Ino-pig.

"Ino-pig…"

"Uh, yes, Forehead?"

"Where _is _he?"

Ino-pig laughed nervously. "Where is who, exactly?"

This was insane. Where _was_ he? How could he simply disappear like that?

"Ino-pig, where is my secret admirer? I know that's who you were talking to…" It didn't make sense. He should be here, shouldn't he?

"Well, by now he's probably gone…"

"**What?**" I asked. "How? He was _just _here!"

"Forehead, as you've been talking to me, he's slipped out the door."

I turned towards to door, trying to see if this was true. The door was right there, completely ajar.

"Dangit! I… I wanted to meet him!"

Ino-pig smiled. "And you will! Eventually. Soon."

I let myself forget about the fact that I had let my secret admirer get away—for the moment, anyway. "Ino-pig… how long have you known who he is?"

I tried to get myself ready for her answer, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for it. "Since the beginning, actually. I'm really sorry about keeping it a secret but…"

"But?" I prompted.

"He said he had a plan. And—now that I think about it—this was probably part of it too… He probably knew you were in the room this entire time. He was probably trying to give you a chance to listen to him, and maybe get to know him a little." She paused. "But hey, what do I know? Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

"Yeah, maybe…" All of this was way too much.

"So, Forehead, how long were you in here anyway?"

"I don't know who he is, if that's what you're trying to figure out. I realized he's not Naruto, Lee, or Kiba though. Actually, I've narrowed down my secret admirer's identity to three people."

"Three people? But Forehead, if you eliminated Naruto, Lee, and Kiba, that only leaves—"

"Neji and Gaara? Yeah, I know. But…" I trailed off, unsure as to whether or not I should tell Ino who I thought the third person might be.

"Okay, first of all, you need to tell me _why _you eliminated Naruto, Lee, and Kiba. And **then **you can tell me why you have three candidates left instead of two."

I sighed. "Well, Ino-pig, I heard you yesterday." After noticing the confusion on her face, I continued. "I heard you when you were talking to Sasuke."

At this, Ino-pig looked downright pissed off. "And you didn't _tell _me?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You didn't tell **me** first, Ino-pig."

She sighed, then nodded. "Touché. Continue?"

"Yeah, okay," I said. "So, after hearing that conversation, it became very clear that Sasuke disliked whoever my secret admirer was—very, very much. And then, when Sasuke came over to my house after school—"

"Sasuke did **what?** Holy friggin' crap, Sakura! What did he say? What did he do?"

"Chill, Ino-pig. He didn't say or do much—he just told me to ignore my secret admirer's gifts. But it was _very _clear that he hated whoever my secret admirer is very much. So, yesterday…"

"You eliminated Naruto, Kiba, and Lee. Okay. That makes sense. Why didn't you eliminate Neji or Gaara?"

"As if I really need to tell you, Ino-pig! _Everyone _knows about the Hyuuga/Uchiha rivalry. And well, I'm sure you remember what happened with Gaara and Sasuke back in 9th grade."

Ino-pig cringed. "Oh yeah, I remember. They couldn't clean up the blood from their fight for **weeks**. It was disgusting."

"Yeah, it was. But I'm sure Sasuke hates Gaara—why else would he publicly fight him like that?"

"Okay, fine. Now, why do you have three candidates? Last time I checked Neji plus Gaara equals two."

"Well, Ino-pig, as soon as I realized Sasuke hated my secret admirer a lot… well, his brother came to mind."

"You don't mean—"

"Actually, I do," I said. "Itachi Uchiha might be my secret admirer."

--

**Okay, so apparently I can't manage weekly updates. I'm sorry! I'm not going to lie here… I don't think I'll be able to manage another update until Winter Break starts. Midterms are coming up. **

**I apologize for any mistakes, I really wanted to get this chapter out. I think this story might be wrapping up soon, too. If I can't come up with any twists, then I'm estimating this being done after two more chapters. I might include an epilogue, maybe. But I'm definitely making a sequel! I've already got it planned and everything.**

**Ja ne!,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	7. Chapter Seven: An Uchiha Showdown

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto. _

--

"You think Itachi might be your secret admirer," Ino repeated. "But he wasn't even on The List! Forehead, we made that list for a _reason!_" Ino was starting to look pissed off again, so I had to calm her down.

"Technically, Pig-chan, **you **made that list," I reminded her. She looked like she was about to protest, so I kept talking. "And anyway, you could've just left Itachi off The List so I'd never suspect him."

Now, she was offended. "Forehead! Would **I **do something like _that_?"

I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? You did hide the fact that you knew who my secret admirer was… Really, how am I supposed to trust you?" I was in dangerous territory now. _Alright, Sakura, _I thought. _You're either gunna make Ino even madder or—_

Ino-pig sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine. You know what we can do? Let's go to Room 127."

I looked at Ino like she was crazy. _And who knows? Maybe she was. _

"_What?_" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that? That's where Itachi hangs out before school! You know, with his friends!"

"Ino-pig," I said slowly. "How the _hell _do you know that?"

"Jeez, Forehead, you are **impossible! **Just follow me so you can talk to Itachi. _Then _you can decide for yourself whether or not he's your actual secret admirer."

I nodded in agreement.

"Well then, let's go!" Ino-pig declared and together we stepped into the hall and headed towards Room 127.

--

We didn't make it to Room 127.

"Oh my _god, _I am so sorry!" I apologized to the person I'd run in to. "I didn't even see you!"

"Way to go, Forehead," Ino-pig said before she realized exactly **who **I'd bumped in to. "…oh, hey Itachi! We were just about to visit you!"

Itachi didn't even look away from me. "Oh really?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Really," I answered, feeling kind of awkward. Couldn't he look somewhere else, or something?

"And why, may I ask, where you going to do that?"

"Well, actually, I had a question for you—" I started before Ino cut me off.

"Forehead-chan, I'm going to go to class early, okay? So I'll see you later," she said. She looked at Itachi before adding, "Have fun!" She turned and walked in the direction we'd come from, leaving me **completely **alone with the _hot _older brother of my ex-boyfriend.

"She's kind of weird, isn't she?" Itachi asked as soon as Ino was out of sight. "But really, Sakura, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well…" I started again. This wasn't going to be easy. "Recently, I've had this secret admirer—"

"Ah, yes," Itachi said, and I could've sworn his eyes narrowed slightly. "I know."

"You—_what?_" How did he know about my secret admirer? Unless… he was my secret admirer after all! I **knew **it!

"Lately Sasuke has been… distressed, you could say, about this secret admirer of yours. He never stops moping because of your admirer when he's at home."

I looked at Itachi in shock.

"I guess the competition for your affection has... gotten to him," he continued.

"As if he even _competes _for my affection…" I muttered. Itachi looked at my strangely, so I clarified. "Even when we were dating, he never really cared, you know? It kind of seemed like…" I looked down. "He wasn't even happy with me anyway."

"Sakura," Itachi said before stepping closer and wrapping his arms around me in a hug. "I treated you like a sister when you and Sasuke were dating, and I still consider you like a sister to me. And you should know… He might not have shown it all the time, but at home, it was easy to tell. You made him the happiest he'd ever been since…"

"Itachi," a voice called from further down the hall. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

_Oh, great, _I thought. _Sasuke's here. Now it's a freakin' party._

"It is not what it looks like, foolish little brother," Itachi said before smoothly stepping away from me. "I was simply comforting Sakura because _someone _had given her the impression that they didn't _care _about her."

Sasuke walked over to us, his eyes narrowing as he got closer. He stopped a couple of feet away from me and Itachi. "How dare you," he said simply. "What's between me and _Sakura_ isn't **any **of your business. So why don't you just leave?"

I had no intentions of witnessing a Sasuke/Itachi showdown before school even started. "You guys, can't you just—?"

"Stay out of this, Sakura," Sasuke stated without even glancing at me. His stare never left his brother. "This doesn't concern you."

"On the contrary, foolish little brother," Itachi said with a smile. "Doesn't it?"

"You are such a—" Sasuke started before Itachi cut him off.

"Please, Sasuke, Sakura doesn't have all day. We still have a conversation to finish." Itachi leaned towards me, his head moving _way, way, way _too close to mine.

"I am not your secret admirer, Sakura," he murmured in my ear. "But I know who is."

"Itachi! Step **away **from her _right now!_" Sasuke shouted.

"Your secret admirer's liked you for a long time," Itachi continued. "And it's gotten him in trouble before. Sasuke hasn't liked him for a very long time as well."

"I swear to God, Itachi!" Sasuke shouted again. He took a step forward, his fist rising.

"Think of something that happened last year, Sakura," Itachi murmured, as if Sasuke was not about to punch him in the face. "And then try to think of why it might have happened."

Why did he have to be so _mysterious _about it? Couldn't he just come out and say who in the world my secret admirer is?

"You can figure it out, Sakura," Itachi said as he pulled away from me. "I know you can."

"_What _did you tell her, Itachi?" Sasuke said. I winced at the hatred in his voice.

"Relax, foolish little brother," Itachi responded. "It's not like I told her who her secret admirer is." He smirked at Sasuke. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have things to do. It was nice talking to you again, Sakura." And with that, Itachi started walking away.

I looked at Sasuke, feeling entirely awkward. "Well," I said. "I'd better be going too. Ino's waiting for me."

"What did he tell you, Sakura?" His voice was definitely softer, that was for sure. Obviously Sasuke liked me more than his brother. _And who knows, _I thought. _He might even like me enough to _care about me.

"See you later, Sasuke," I said instead of answering. "Or not. Who knows?"

"Sakura—!"

But I was already down the hall.

--

Skipping class was _not _something I did often, but it was basically unavoidable.

Itachi's clues were going to bug me anyway, so it's not like I would've actually _learned _something. I was better off out of class. And being outside would totally help my thinking.

_So, let's see, _I thought. Something that had happened last year.

_Well, I was in ninth grade, _I continued my thinking. _Ino was my best friend. Sasuke was my boyfriend. But what happened?_

There was that thing with Lee, when he'd asked me out in front of everyone at lunch. _Definitely awkward. _And that time when Neji had that huge argument with Hinata about family issues. And then there was the time when Lee pissed off Gaara and Gaara kicked the crap out of him. _But Lee annoys everyone, so there's nothing weird about that. _But then there was the time **Gaara **pissed off **Sasuke**… I had thought they hadn't even know each other…

And, now that I thought about it, how had Gaara even pissed off Sasuke? As far as I knew, they'd never even had a conversation with each other. So why…?

_ "Your secret admirer's liked you for a long time," Itachi continued. "And it's gotten him in trouble before. Sasuke hasn't liked him for a very long time as well." _

"Oh my god," I said as my realization hit. "Oh my _freakin' _God!"

It all made sense.

Why Sasuke didn't like Gaara last year—it was because Gaara liked _me, _Sasuke's girlfriend! They'd gotten in that huge fight over _me _and I'd never even known! "How could I have been so oblivious?" I wondered out loud.

"Gaara's my secret admirer!"

--

**Oh my god, indeed! I AM SO SORRY! It's been what, four months? Sorry doesn't even begin to cover it! But, on the bright side, I've finally updated, so all is well, kind of. There might be two more chapters after this, and then an epilogue that will probably lead into the sequel. I'll try to update before the summer starts, but things are about to get busier, so no promises. But once again, I'M SORRY! **

**Thanks for reading!,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	8. Chapter Eight: Some Chance Encounters

**The List** _by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto. _

_A/N: Warning! OOC Gaara. Seriously._

--

"Oh my _god! _I'm such a freakin' idiot," I groaned. "How could I have missed the reason why Sasuke hated Gaara so much last year?"

Really, if I'd only **stopped **and actually _wondered _why Sasuke hated Gaara in the first place I probably would've realized this sooner. And if Itachi hadn't said anything to me in the hall about my secret admirer… _I would still be totally in the dark! _

I momentarily paused my freaking out and stared at the sky above me. I needed to chill out so I could **calmly** answer a question that was starting to majorly bug me.

_Why does Gaara like me anyway? _

Okay, so it's not like I'm _ugly_—despite what Sai says. But I wouldn't consider myself beautiful or anything. And alright, I'm smart. But how would he know that? First of all, I've hardly ever talked to him. _Me_ saying hello to _him _once or twice in the hall hardly counted as a conversation. And second of all, it's not like he's seen my grades. So for all he knows, I could be as dumb as… well, Naruto.

"Ugh," I groaned. "I've finally realized who my secret admirer is, and now I can't even figured out why!" I felt like kicking something, but there wasn't anything to kick behind the school where I was currently standing. I turned my back to the school—probably a bad decision, but whatever. I had bigger issues right now!—and stared at the fence lining the perimeter of our school property.

"So you _have _figured it out," a voice said behind me. "I knew you would."

_That voice, _I thought. _Could it be…?_

"Mr. Secret Admirer?" I asked in disbelief. How had he found me out here?

"I prefer Gaara, but you can call me Mr. Gaara Sabaku if it makes you feel better," he offered.

I turned around, facing my secret admirer—Gaara—head on. This side of Gaara was something I'd never seen… or heard about. From what I'd been told, Gaara was cruel. And insane. But he was… making jokes? I was shocked, to say the least.

"You look confused," he stated. "Why?"

"Sorry," I apologized. "I'm just… I didn't expect you to be like this." He didn't look like he knew what I mean, so I continued. "I didn't expect you to be nice."

"Oh," he answered. _This is way awkward, _I thought. _But_ _I wouldn't know what to say to that either. _"I've been told that this is how I should act… if I wanted to have a chance with you."

"Ino," I said, more so a statement than a question.

--

In Asuma's Health class, Ino sneezed.

--

Gaara nodded in confirmation.

I smiled when I realized something. "You're being nicer because you want a chance with me?"

He nodded again.

"That's so sweet, Gaara! It really is. I mean, changing for someone else is something I generally don't agree with but… Changing for the _better _for someone else is kind of different, I guess. And it's sweet. Definitely sweet." I realized I was rambling, so I shut up.

"Does that mean you're going to give me a chance?" he asked. I thought about his question. _Was _I going to give him a chance?

Before I answered, there was something I **needed **to know. "Before I answer _your _question, could you answer mine?"

For the third time, Gaara nodded.

"Why do you even like me anyway? I mean, no offense or anything but… we're not exactly friends or anything. I've hardly even talked to you." Okay, so I was kind of rambling again, but at least I'd asked my question. But what would he say?

He looked shocked at my question. "Sakura," he started. "What is there to _not _like about you?" He paused, looking like he was puzzled because of his own question. "You're so talented—you're the best in our year at just about everything. And you're so..." He paused.

_Oh my god! Gaara's _blushing_! _

"…beautiful," he finished. "And you're dependable, honest, and caring." He locked his eyes with mine. "Who _wouldn't _like you?"

I was speechless. _Oh my god, _I thought. _Now _I'm _blushing! _Once again, I was wondering how I had missed how much Gaara liked me. _Obviously, _I thought, _he likes me _**a lot**.

"Now, Sakura," he said, probably noticing my inability to form sentences. "Are you going to give me a chance?"

"Of **course**!" I responded with no hesitation. "I mean, after hearing that, who wouldn't like _you_?"

"So, I'll pick you up at seven? On Friday?" Gaara asked, smirking slightly. Obviously he found _something _funny.

"Friday's goo—" I started, only to be interrupted by the person I absolutely did not want here right now.

"You not seriously going to _date _him, are you?"

I turned around slowly, already knowing what I would see. _Jeez, that is one _angry _Sasuke Uchiha. _"What are you **doing **here, Sasuke? You didn't hop the fence, did you?" The only way he could've come from behind me was over the fence. And that just didn't seem very Uchiha-esque.

"That doesn't matter right now," he said instead of answering. _He totally hopped the fence, _I thought. "Answer my question, Sakura. You're not seriously going to date that psychopath, are you?"

I narrowed my eyes. This was getting ridiculous. Sasuke needed to _know his place. _"Yeah, I think I am, actually. And it doesn't matter because it's **none **of your business. I am not your property, Sasuke. So stop acting like it."

"He's insane, Sakura! Completely unstable! He'll _hurt _you!" Sasuke looked over at Gaara. "You can't **trust **him!"

"I don't know, Sasuke. I actually think he's kind of cute." Okay, so I was trying to get Sasuke mad now. So what? He needed to stop acting like I was his property! We'd broken up _forever _ago. He needed to accept that. It was nice that he was (kind of) acting like he cared, but this was ridiculous.

Instead of getting angry at me, like I had expected him to, Sasuke walked over to Gaara. "You didn't listen to me, Sabaku. I _told _you not to even talk to her."

"Sasuke, this is between **you and me**," I yelled. "Leave Gaara alone."

"No, Sakura, this is between _me and Sabaku. _I already warned him—"

I watched in fascinated horror as Gaara punched Sasuke in the face.

"I'm sorry," Gaara said when he noticed the look on my face. "He had it coming."

I looked at Sasuke, holding his face. "Yeah, he did."

"You _asshole!_" Sasuke hissed. "Who the _hell _do you think you are?"

And then Sasuke punched him back.

"**You guys!**" I shouted. I ran over to them and attempted separating them. "Stop fighting!" I kicked Sasuke away from Gaara. I shoved Gaara back a bit just to be safe. "It's one thing to argue, but when you guys get violent, I _will _stop you."

"Hey, Forehead, that's _my _job!"

I mentally groaned. _You have got to be kidding me. _

"I want to be the mediator!" Ino said as she jogged towards us, coming from the back exit of the school.

"We don't even need a mediator, Pig!" I shot back. "We're all about to go back to class!"

Ino scoffed. "As if, Forehead. You three," she said as she gestured towards me, Gaara, and Sasuke, "have a _lot _to talk about! And you obviously need a mediator to stop the fights, judging by the bruises on Sasuke **and **Gaara's faces." She paused, probably for dramatic effect. "So, here I am!"

I groaned—out loud this time—when I realized that I wasn't going back inside the school anytime soon.

"Don't you guys even _care _that we're supposed to be in **class?**"

--

**Hey guys! **

**I know, I know. Two updates in two days… it's a new record, huh? Let's just say I had some free time—and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight without writing this first. And, as always, your reviews encouraged me. So, thank you so much for the reviews! As I said yesterday, I'll try to update **_**again **_**before the summer starts but no promises. ALSO: I'll probably be editing some of the previous chapters, so don't be surprised if you check them and something's a little different. **

**Thanks for reading!,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	9. Chapter Nine: Conflicts Are Resolved

**The List **_by LittleMissHippie_

Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto._

--

"Don't be such a loser, Forehead," Ino said. "No one cares about going back to _class_! Jeez, I can't even believe I hang out with you sometimes…" she muttered. "But anyway, we can't go back to class now!"

"And why can't we?" Sasuke asked with just a hint of anger in his voice. "Because _you _said so?"

"Okay, **first **of all, Uchiha,shut up. And second of all, you guys need to resolve this whole thing _right _now," Ino responded. "And yes, because _I _said so."

I looked from Gaara to Sasuke and then to Ino. I could see how there was some issues—well, more like one particular issue—that needed talking about. "Fine, Ino-pig. But can we make this quick? We really _should _be in class."

"Such a nerd…" Ino muttered. "However, I appreciate you seeing things my way—"

"Yamanaka, there's nothing to talk about," Sasuke interrupted. "There aren't any _issues _that need solving."

"I disagree, Uchiha!" Ino said rather happily. _Why in the world is she so happy? _I wondered. "And those bruises on your face disagree as well!"

"Ino," Gaara said. "Maybe I should leave. It seems to me that most of the issues here are between Sakura and Uchiha."

"_What_?" I asked. "How could you say that, Gaara?"

"Well, it _is _true, Forehead. You and _Sasu-cakes_ here have the most unresolved sexual tension."

"_Sasu-cakes?_" Sasuke exclaimed. "What the hell, Yamanaka?"

"We do not have unresolved sexual tension, Pig!" I yelled. Seriously, what the hell was Ino even on? Obviously she was smoking **something! **

"I agree with Sakura," Gaara added. "They're not even friends. How can have unresolved… tension?"

"Because they never talked about their issues when they broke up, duh," Ino said, deciding to respond to Gaara but not me or Sasuke. _That's probably a good decision, _I thought. "So, that's what they need to do now."

"I don't need to be here," Gaara stated. "That is, if this is just between Sasuke and Sakura."

"No, Gaara, you should stay," I argued. "This concerns you too."

"I disagree," Sasuke said. I glared at him. "Get lost, Sabaku," he added, just to make his message clearer.

"Get bent, Uchiha," Gaara shot back.

"You _guys,_" I said. "Can't you be nicer to each other? Jeez."

"See! There's an issue right there! Sasuke and Gaara _hate _each other!" Ino said while gesturing to the two. "One of these days, one of them is going to snap and then bam!" She slapped her hands together. "A major fight. Probably in school."

"That would never happen," Gaara argued. "I can control myself. The one you have to worry about is the Uchiha."

Ino raised a single eyebrow at Gaara. _Creepy, _I thought.

"…fine, it could possibly happen," Gaara relented. "But it's not likely."

"Gaara, you have a temper," Ino said. "Accept it. Move on."

"Well," Sasuke said. "Unlike Sabaku, I actually do have control of myself."

I laughed. "That's funny, Sasuke! Because you totally punched Gaara back. Is that what you call self-control?"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to argue, but apparently he thought better of it and kept his mouth shut.

Ino grinned. "You are so totally _whipped, _Sasu-cakes! And she's not even your girlfriend anymore!"

"Shut the hell up, Yamanaka," Sasuke said. _Way to not deny it, _I thought.

"Anyway," Ino said, ignoring Sasuke's glares, "I'm going to lay out all of your issues. You know, besides the whole Sasuke/Gaara feud that's starting to develop."

"There isn't a freakin' _feud _developing, Pig."

"First of all," Ino said, ignoring me, "Sasu-cakes here isn't over Sakura." She gestured toward an angry looking Sasuke. "This is a major problem. Seriously."

"Ino-pig, I'm not even sure Sasuke _liked _me in the first place—"

"Oh, he liked you. Trust me." I decided not to ask how she knew. Ino had crazy amounts of sources. And Sasuke wasn't denying anything so far, so that had to mean **something. **

"Alright," I said cautiously. "You can continue."

"Good!" Ino exclaimed. "So, second of all, Sakura is totally ready to move on." This time, she gestured toward me. "And Sasuke _obviously _is not letting her because he's _so _not over her. This is also a major problem."

I glanced at Sasuke and Gaara to see their reactions. Sasuke was staying quiet still and Gaara was nodding in agreement. I started nodding as well.

"Thirdly," Ino started. "Gaara is ready to help Sakura move on. And _Sasuke _is not going to willingly let him. This is a—"

"Major problem," I finished.

"You know," Gaara started while looking contemplative. "I'm noticing a pattern here. A key source—if not _the _source—of all of these 'issues' is Sasuke's inability to get over Sakura."

"Exactly!" Ino said excitedly. "And the first step to dealing with a problem is admitting there _is _a problem. The way I see it, if Sasuke just _admits _he still likes Sakura, that's a huge step right there."

"I don't know…" I said. But I couldn't really deny The Truth.

"That's probably the most stupid thing I've ever heard," Sasuke said. Apparently he had no issues with denying The Truth. "And I've been friends with The Dobe for a long time. So I've heard some pretty stupid things."

"Sasuke," I said. I directed my entire attention towards Sasuke for the first time in awhile. "Are you over me?"

"Sakura," he responded. "Of course I am."

I stared at him.

"…_oh my God, _she's giving him The Stare!" Ino murmured. "That means she means _business."_

"Of course I am," he repeated. I think he was trying to convince himself now.

I continued staring at him.

"…fine! _Maybe _I'm not over you. Maybe."

Ino started laughing. "It's about time, Sasu-cakes!"

I smiled at fact that I was still able to affect Sasuke just by staring at him. _I've still got it! _I gloated internally.

"So what does this mean?" Gaara asked. He actually sounded like he was afraid of the answer. He looked at me before continuing, "What are you going to do now that you know Sasuke's not over you?"

I thought about Gaara's question. Was I supposed to get back together with Sasuke, now that I knew about him still liking me?

I already knew the answer.

"It means," I said slowly, mostly for dramatic effect. _Oh god, I've been hanging out with Ino too much. _"It means I'm still going to be seeing you afterschool on Friday." I paused before asking, "Are you still picking me up at seven?"

"Yeah," Gaara answered. "I am." And then he smiled.

Okay, I'll admit it. I was _slightly _scared. It was just because I wasn't used to seeing Gaara smile. _But, _I thought. _I'll probably be seeing a lot more of Gaara. And his smiles. _So I smiled back.

Gaara and I stood there, smiling at each other for awhile. And of course Ino-pig went and ruined our moment.

"So, Sasu-cakes," Ino said. "Don't you feel better, finally admitting you're not over Sakura? Isn't it nice to _not _be emotionally constipated all the time?"

I gave Ino a reproachful look. "But in all seriousness, Sasuke, you should try being nicer to Gaara too. That'll probably help with all our 'issues' too."

Sasuke stared at me for awhile before finally quietly saying, "Alright."

"Oh, this is _so _cool! We have some serious conflict-resolution going on right now!" Ino actually **clapped **gleefully. "Who even knows? Maybe one day you guys might actually be friends again!"

"I doubt it," Gaara muttered. And did I detect a hint of jealousy?

I shrugged with a slight smile. "If Sasuke can accept me moving on—with Gaara—then maybe." I looked at Sasuke—who looked like he was in pain but was nodding all then the same—and then at Gaara. Gaara looked really, really happy. I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"See, I am a _beast _mediator! And you doubted my skills!"

I rolled my eyes at Ino. She was such a weirdo sometimes.

"Okay," I said. "If we're done here, can we go back to class now? Please?"

Ino sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. Back to class we go!" She started walking back to class, leaving me behind with Sasuke and Gaara.

Sasuke looked once at me and Gaara and then followed Ino back to the building. "Hurry up," he said over his shoulder. "We might make it back in time for fifth period."

Gaara looked at Sasuke for a moment before looking at me. "Could I walk you to class?"

"Of course!" I responded. I momentarily paused before taking his hand. "Let's go!"

So, after skipping the first half of our classes of the day, Gaara and I followed Sasuke and Ino while walking hand-in-hand back to class.

_Life, _I thought while smiling to myself, _is good._

--

**Alright, you guys.**

**First of all, I'd like to say thanks for sticking with this story. Even when I took my "little" break. Thanks you guys! Second of all, I think you can consider this the end. I mean, I'll probably write a short epilogue to tie up **_**some **_**loose ends (and mention how Gaara and Sakura's date goes!) but for the most part this story is done. Expect a sequel very, very soon. Because it is planned. And the Akatsuki is present. **

**So, until I update again,**

**LittleMissHippie**


	10. The Sequel! The Prelude!

Hey guys!

Once again, sorry for the fake update. Just wanted everyone to know that I just posted a prologue of sorts… **The List Prelude. **It answers some questions, in addition to raising some.

I'm not posting it as the first chapter to **The List **for a few reasons:

My writing style in **TLP **is more similar to **Betrayed **than **TL**—it that way, it doesn't fit with the rest of the story.

It serves as a prologue to **The List **and **The List Redux**—hence, it's getting posted as a separate entity.

**TLP **is double the length of a usual chapter in **TL** and,

**TLP **works as a stand-alone read.

So, in conclusion, it's posted. And you should go read it. I worked really, really hard on it, and I'd love to know what everyone thinks!

~LMH


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